Image: Gooding & Company

The McLaren F1 has become the most expensive car sold at auction in 2021.

The F1 ? one of the most prized collector cars for its rarity and place in auto history ? became the most expensive car auctioned last year, when it was sold for US$20.5 million at Pebble Beach. It also became the most expensive McLaren F1 ever sold.

The McLaren F1 is the creation of Gordon Murray, who has been regarded as one of the greatest automotive engineers of all time. One of the reasons why the F1 is highly desired is its engine: a 6.1-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine developed and built by BMW.

READ MORE: Kimi Räikönen?s McLaren Up for Auction Following Retirement

Image: Gooding & Company
Developing the BMW V12 is a story of its own. Murray did not have enough budget to develop his own engine for the F1, so he sought out some of the best engine builders in the world to do it instead. Murray had a list of requirements for the engine and wasn?t willing to compromise on any of them. He initially went to Honda, but was rejected. He then turned to Paul Rosche at BMW M, who is a personal friend of his, who ended up taking on the challenge.

The requirements were that the engine needed to be a V12, naturally aspirated, with at least 100 horsepower per litre, and high revs. The BMW M team managed to tick all of Murray’s boxes, and the free-breathing V12 they created has been lauded as a masterpiece and one of the best engines of all ti...